Girls’ Nights with Blue Apron!

I decided I wanted to try a different type of girls’ night over here—>  Blue Apron to the rescue.  I made dinner together with my girls at my house!

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Blue Apron makes it so that we can create amazing recipes at home!  They deliver all of the farm-fresh ingredients that we need right to my doorstep (in a refrigerated box to keep all of the ingredients fresh just in case they deliver it when I am not home).  I think the fact that they make delicious meals so convenient for me is my favorite part about Blue Apron.  They deliver to me all of the best ingredients in the right proportions.  This means two things—>  1) I don’t have to go to the grocery store (which I am especially grateful for during the colder months).  2) I don’t end up wasting any ingredients because I bought too much of something.  

A cod recipe with golden raisins? I was very intrigued.  

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Lindsey and I put together this Crispy Cod with Warm Cauliflower & Mustard Green Salad.  It was fabulous.  The cod was so flavorful and the cauliflower salad was so different from anything that I have ever made.  There is just something especially fun about cooking with other people and then eating a meal that you prepared together rather than just eating something at a restaurant.  It was relaxing, Brooke was able to play the whole time and we could sit at my table for as long as we wanted catching up on everything.  

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Meal #2——>  Blue Apron once again got me out of my cooking comfort zone and trying out new things.  This was my first time cooking with beets and somehow for the first time in the history of my life, I actually enjoyed eating them.    

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We made Za’atar Chicken and Farro Salad with Beet, Goat Cheese and Pistachios (LOVED the pistachios in this dish).  This one was my favorite meal from this delivery!

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Bree came over and we got to work in the kitchen together.  I like to get the 2-Person Plan which includes one delivery each week with three awesome meals for two ($9.99 per person per meal).  You can also choose to get the Family Plan which is great for feeding a family of four!  With the Family Plan you can choose to receive one or two deliveries per week, each delivery consisting of two meals to be served family-style ($8.74 per person).   You can do this weekly, monthly, whenever you are in a cooking rut, for weeks that you have company over etc.  There is no commitment with Blue Apron- you can skip or cancel the service at any time!  PS shipping is always free and they ship to most of the country.  

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The spice blend in this recipe was ridiculously good and gave the chicken so much flavor.  The goat cheese was perfection and the Farro Salad was just what I was craving.  My stomach is growling for this dish again as I am looking at the picture and writing about it.

I get asked often about the portion sizes with Blue Apron meals—>  I eat a lot and I always finish their meals feeling full and extremely satisfied.  They don’t skimp on the good stuff.  

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Brooke had her very first experience with Fennel!

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For our last Girls’ Night we made a dish that I knew Brooke would love because it included three of her favorite things—>  cheese, pasta and broccoli.  Turns out that she likes Fennel too… wouldn’t have figured that one out if it wasn’t for this recipe:)  

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Definitely a meal that we all could agree was delicious and hit the spot.  Using Blue Apron was such a fun way to experience a different girls’ night with some of my favorites.  We all love food and so it was fun to try new cooking techniques/ingredients together and eat a delicious meal while being comfortable at home (with the heater on full blast because it is starting to get cold here at night). 

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***EXCITING NEWS about Blue Apron——>  they just launched their recycling program.  It is pretty sweet and you can read more about it HERE!

Don’t forget that you can check out amazing recipes from Blue Apron HERE—> The Roasted Spaghetti Squash, the Pan-Seared Salmon and Farro Salad, Southern-Style Shrimp boil, Chicken Tinga Tacos and Oven-Fried Chicken with Coleslaw & Buttermilk Biscuits all made me drool a little bit!  They are constantly adding new dishes to their large selection of recipes every week!

The first 100 readers will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order! Go HERE to get the deal.

This post was sponsored by Blue Apron!  Thank you for all you guys do in supporting me, the Brookers and our sponsors.

What was the last recipe that you made at home?

Gotten out of your comfort zone with cooking lately?  Tried any ‘new to you’ ingredients? 

What are your feelings about beets—>  love, dislike or somewhere in the middle?

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48 comments

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I can’t resist beets with goat cheese! Seriously might be my favorite food.

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I love this. There are so many things I wouldn’t try if it weren’t for Blue Apron! And I love that you don’t have to get a whole container of something that you need a tablespoon of! That’s what usually drives me crazy about trying new recipes!

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What a fun girl date! I have some friends who use Blue Apron and absolutely love it. Sometimes it’s all they talk about! I am always cooking with new vegetables. I’m on a winter squash kick right now (surprise, surprise), but I’ve also been enjoying purple sweet potatoes!

I actually went through a phase where I ate beets every single day because I read that they knock a minute off of your 5k haha! They actually do have a lot of amazing health benefits for runners, but I’m not sure if I owe my PR all to them.

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I’ve been so lazy cooking recently! I don’t know if it’s taper crazies or just wanting to watch all the bad reality tv, but I need to get back in the kitchen!

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Goat cheese salads are one of my all time favorites. I actually don’t think I like a salad more than that. It looks like you have such a good experience with Blue Apron. Personally, it’s still a lengthy and confusing process for me. It works for a lot of people but I don’t think it’s something for me…blue goat cheese salads are. ;)

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I’m not very good in the kitchen, but maybe it would be easier with something like this. Some of those meals look so good! The last meal I made was a potato and chicken that I microwaved… :/

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One of my favorite side dishes is quinoa with beets. I don’t like beets plain but they are so good mixed into things!

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I love cooking! I am a huge beets fan, although I didn’t love them as a kid :)
The cod you made looks amazing!
I made a yummy pasta dish last night with steamed zucchini and my kiddos loved it!
The broccoli and fennel casserole looks sooo good too.
Okay, now I’m hungry!

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I think my favorite part about this is that it give you the opportunity to let Brooke try foods she’s never had/you’d probably never commit to buying because it’s intimidating for everyone. It’s so easy to get caught in a rut with kids’ food!

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I’m trying to learn to make Indian dishes.
I don’t love beets.
Last meal: taco night!

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So I always love these posts and am inspired… today I took the plunge and made my first order! Thanks for the discount Janae :) Can’t wait to test my struggling kitchen skills ha!

PS I hear beets make you run faster…..

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All those meals look delicious!
I’m cooking with squash a lot lately.
LOVE beets and even more with goat cheese in a salad. Yum!

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I really like beets, especially with goat cheese. I recently tried almond flour and loved it!

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I’m not a fan of beets, but if there’s a pretty good recipe with them I will give it a try!

I made mac and cheese last night and added some extra veggies to it to make it healthy. Does that count as out of my comfort zone?! ?

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I made Sally’s apple crumb pie from sallysbakingaddiction.com this weekend after we went apple picking – DELICIOUS!!

I only like to eat beats when I don’t have to prepare them myself, since they can be messy.

Your meals look great! I’m so impressed Brooke is into fennel- that’s not always an easy sell with kiddos!

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Man, it’s so nice that Brooke is such an easy eater! I was such a picky kid, I’m constantly impressed by her!

I’m not very comfortable in the kitchen, but my boyfriend is a pretty amazing chef. He made steak with a red wine reduction this week and it was innnncredible. He also sautéed some jicama with it too (we thought it was a potato for a very long time), and it was SO GOOD. Maybe I’ll get him (and me) a subscription this winter for Christmas :)

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my roommate does BA but i’ve never tried it — i’m pretty picky so it prob wouldn’t work super well for me. big fan of beets, though — i love them in fresh-pressed juices, too. so good.

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I normally cook dinner every night, but we’ve had a lot going on. So tonight will be the first night in a week that I will be making dinner and not just taking a side dish somewhere.
Just the title of the oven fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits make me hungry!

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I keep meaning to order some blue apron to try it already! I think my son would enjoy cooking with me and would also appreciate the variety of the food, we are often in a dinner rut, well, at least according to him!

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BA meals look so yummy and so much easier than having to go to the store to get all of the ingredients separately. My husband said beets make you faster :) He is a triathlete and has them daily.

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I’ve been hearing such great things from so many bloggers about Blue Apron! I need to jump on board with them!!! Your meals look great! :)

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I am intrigued by this Blue Apron idea. Sounds very convenient!!

Recently I have really been enjoying beets, although I hate peeling them so I have been lazy and not eaten many lately. I need to get back on it because theyre so good for you!

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I love cooking and trying new foods. Even simple twists make a big difference flavor-wise. Last night I made quinoa with garlic shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan , earthy and delicious.

I love beets.

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I keep hearing about Blue Apron from bloggers. I am giving it a try with your discount! Thanks! I made a savory pumpkin recipe for my blog (pumpkin & spinach quinoa). I am normally a sweet pumpkin baked goods kind of girl. I still prefer the sweets but it was fun to try something new!

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Beets are definitely not my jam. I think they taste like dirt no matter how they are cooked. That shrimp boil sounds divine!

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LOVE Blue Apron! I’m making the chicken and beet dish tonight.

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Do your girlfriends feel famous when they are on your blog? ;) haha!

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This sounds so convenient! And Brooke looks equal parts excited and skeptical on the fennel.

Yesterday we made French toast for dinner using a baguette. We tossed in a tad bit of coriander to the egg mixture and it added a nice flavor.

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oooo yup beets and goat cheese is a fav. I love beets a whole lot… just not that panic when I have to pee and it’s all red hahaha I always forget I ate beets! And then when I remember, i stop trying to call my doctor… haha

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I “broke down” a few months ago and decided to start giving Blue Apron a try. I am only receiving 1 delivery/month and so far I kind of love it all! We also got the Broccoli & Fennel Casserole. I had never had fennel before and while it was not my favorite, it was definitely quite tasty. Funny too…my son is 9, and I thought the same thing as you did with Brooke….broccoli, cheese, and pasta…he should love it! :) I also get the 2-person plan…and I feel the portions are pretty huge for most of the meals. I can usually get 1-2 more meals from each dish.

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I made a sweet potato, black bean and corn taco last night with a honey and lime dressing on it. It was so good! It did take a bit of time to cut everything up but I have discovered that every healthy recipe just takes a lot more time! I love beets in a salad but I usually only order it in restaurants, I’m not sure why I never use them at home!

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Last night I made pasta with pancetta and peas. My family loved it! I haven’t really used pancetta before. It was crispy crunchy and delish in the pasta. My husband and I love beets!

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We’ve been all about soup in our house lately, and we usually have extra, so we’ve been freezing it to save for the colder months!

My sister is an organic farmer, so I get her CSA each week with tons of unique vegetables in it. I actually just made spaghetti squash last week and have another one this week so will be checking out the recipe you shared above!

I like beets when they’re in salads at restaurants, but I’ve never tried cooking with them myself.

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That looks like a very yummy dinner!!

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Love beets and goat cheese and farro and pistachios, may need to make that dish stat! And love the idea of having your friends over for a cooking date!

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I just made my first Blue Apron order after reading your blogs about it for awhile. I’m excited!

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Oh yay!!! I hope you love it!!!

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I made a Turkey Meatball Soup. So tasty especially with the weather change.

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My boyfriend made me the pan-seared salmon and farro salad from his first delivery and it was delicious!!!!!!!!!!
I get my first delivery today! I am so excited!!

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Ahh those meals look delicious! I would LOVE something like Blue Apron as a grad student with limited time (think lots of PB&J’s and the occasional crockpot feast), but sadly I live overseas :( I made some beef stew yesterday — first time cooking beef since raw meat usually grosses me out haha

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We had the cod and the chicken this week too – Blue Apron is so much fun! My mom gave us a few weeks of meals for our birthday’s this year, and we’ve really been enjoying it.

We had Shrimp Perloo (also a Blue Apron recipe) – it was spicy and delicious!

I’m somewhere in the middle with beets. I don’t go out of my way to eat them, but they’re usually pretty good when I do.

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I love Blue Apron!

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hate beets :(
My daughter (14) actually cooked dinner tonight so that was a nice change of pace ;)

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We’re not really a recipe household. After 14 years of merging Southern, Northeastern, and Cuban cuisine, we’ve come up with a mash-up of flavors and styles that is always good but likely most pleasing to our palate. We usually remember how something was made and we taste throughout but we don’t use recipes except for baking.

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Would love to see a blue apron promo that delivers to Canada!

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I cook a full meal every night, however I have used blue apron a time or too. When I know I have a busy week coming up I have it delivered because then my husband can actually cook without a meltdown since everything is pretty much laid out for him. I also like the variety. I got it last week just to try an African style lamb sausage. It was delicious!

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I’m a resident advisor for freshman at my college, and I have actually looked into having this be a program for our floor. I think they’d all have so much fun cooking together!

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All of these look delicious!

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